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Confucianism -> Lunheng -> Autobiography -> 14

充以元和三年徙家辟，詣楊州部丹陽、九江、廬江。後入為治中，材小任大，職在剌割，筆札之思，歷年寢廢。章和二年，罷州家居。年漸七十，時可懸輿。仕路隔絕，志窮無如。事有否然，身有利害。髮白齒落，日月踰邁，儔倫彌索，鮮所恃賴。貧無供養，志不娛快。曆數冉冉，庚辛域際，雖懼終徂，愚猶沛沛，乃作《養性》之書凡十六篇。養氣自守，適食則酒，閉明塞聰，愛精自保，適輔服藥引導，庶冀性命可延，斯須不老。既晚無還，垂書示後。惟人性命，長短有期，人亦蟲物，生死一時。年歷但記，孰使留之？猶入黃泉，消為土灰。上自黃、唐，下臻秦、漢而來，折衷以聖道，㭊理於通材，如衡之平，如鑑之開，幼老生死古今，罔不詳該。命以不延，吁嘆悲哉！In the third year of Yuan-he, Wang Chong emigrated to Dan-yang, Jiu-jiang, and Lu-jiang in the province of Yang-zhou, and was appointed sub-prefect. His abilities were small, and his office was important. His chief duties were in connection with official correspondence. All plans of writing anything he had given up for many years. In the second year of Zhang-he, his business in the province ceased. He lived at home, and gradually advanced in age, till he reached about seventy years. Then he gave up his official carriage, and his official career was definitely closed. He could not help it. He had many annoyances, and his body felt the infirmities of age. His hair grew white, his teeth fell out, he became older from day to day, and his comrades dispersed. He had nothing to rely upon, was too poor to nurse himself, and had no joy left. But time went slowly on, the keng and hsing years came to an end, but though he was afraid that his death was near at hand, he was still full of silly ideas. Then he wrote a book on Macrobiotics in sixteen chapters. To keep himself alive, he cherished the vital fluid. As a stimulant for the appetite he used wine. Closing eyes and ears against external influences, he spared his energy as a means of self-protection. Using medicines he kept up his forces, and by following this method he hoped to prolong his days. For a while he did not age, but when it. was too late, there was no return. This book was left as a guide to posterity. But the duration of human life is limited. Men like animals live for a while and die. We can only remember the years gone by, who can order them to stand still? We must go down to the yellow sources, and become earth and ashes. From Huang Di and Tang down to the Qin and Han many have been guided by the holy doctrine and have found the truth by their genius, just like a scales and bright like a mirror, yet young and old they have lived and died, of old and now all have been included. Life cannot be prolonged, alas!

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